Illusions

Every time I made myself believe that this mirage was real,

It faded away as I reached a bit closer,

But the journey went on,

I looked upon at illusions.

When the alarm went off, I lay questioning the purpose of lessons in dismay,

Ma reminded me, “It would help me change the world one day.”

So as I carried my bag, with my shoulders bent,

The school bell rang and said, “FOLLOW THE ESTABLISHMENT”

Period 2 “FOLLOW THE ESTABLISHMENT”

Period 3 “FOLLOW THE ESTABLISHMENT!!”

By now all I could hear was the ring of the tam tam,

Uniformity won, I watched the poet choke and clam.

Parts of me survived, parts of me did die,

Twelve year old I believed changing the world was definitely a lie.

Every time I made myself believe that this mirage was real,

It faded away as I reached a bit closer,

But the journey went on,

I looked upon at illusions.

I grew up and saw my father dye his white hair perfectly in ebony,

He’s growing old

But this looks like the remedy.

It wasn’t just home, I saw the world around me colored in this metaphorical dye

As palms were pressed tightly against the lips of freedom cry.

Establishment triumphed once again,

The rebellious lips suffered as they were chapped in pain.

Every time I made myself believe that this mirage was real,

It faded away as I reached a bit closer,

But the journey went on,

I looked upon at illusions.

My gender always occluding my way,

I waited for power dynamics to rearrange,

Millennial like me believed, the only constant should be change.

But I saw the hands of the clock change with every second and every rhyme

And at every second they still represented time.

I was loquacious about my battle,

And then it was quietude to I which I resettled,

Yet again my quietude was assumed to be my consent in lieu,

It was then I realized that silence can be misquoted too.

Every time I made myself believe that this mirage was real,

It faded away as I reached a bit closer,

But the journey went on,

I looked upon at illusions.